In 2008 Barack Hussein Obama was voted into office as the first “African American” President in the history of The United States. People were elated, there were celebrations all across the country, ticker tape parades, tears of joy and glasses were charged a plenty. Oprah was ecstatic that her hero of the hour had taken office and it was as if the Prince of Ethiopia himself, had returned. The world looked on as The Harvard and Columbia graduate was inaugurated into the highest office in the land, Commander In Chief and a new era of change was ushered in. "Yes we can" was the song of victory, but “Yes we can” what?, remained to be seen. It may surprise you to know that I, Xander Gibb was one of those that felt this was the best thing that had ever happen to our great land and in many ways it was. America was on the brink of returning to it’s former state of greatness and with a black person in the White House, there was hope for an end to the racial divisions that had held us back for so long. Many questioned Obama’s credibility and even his American birthright and also his religion as clearly with a name such as his he had to be a Muslim right? At that time, Obama could no wrong for me. He was the best thing since sliced bread and was going to be the savior of this blessed country and dare criticize him and there would be trouble from me and anyone else that supported him. As a lifelong Democrat with admittedly Conservative leanings (not that I would have admitted that) I threw myself into supporting Obama and his Administration, because that’s what Patriots did. I believed in his promise of effecting change for me and mine and believed rather naively, even if I do say so myself, that he could make a credible difference. The Republicans I had come into contact with all seemed like they hated Obama and I believed the media hype that it was because he was black and because he wasn't a Republican. Clearly Republicans didn't care about our country and didn't know what patriotism was, because if they did they would feel exactly how I did right? The level of media brainwashing was at pandemic proportions and even though I considered myself to be fairly objective, (seriously?) I fell for it hook, line and sinker. I had always been something of an activist and with a background in Human Rights, Journalism and Public speaking, I quickly became sucked into the campaign to spread the word that Baz Obama could do no wrong. I blindly believed everything that was spoon fed to me, 24/7, by the Liberal media and never questioned that any kind of bias ever existed. I believed the news outlets that graciously informed me that ALL Republicans hated me because I am gay and that their every disagreement with The Obama administration was due to the color of his skin. No way could it be that his policies were faulty in any way shape or form, oh no, it was that those damn Republicans were not giving him a chance and hating on poor old Baz. All blame for anything financial was at the feet of George Bush and “You can't fix eight years of misadministration in four” right? (I wonder how many supporters of the next incumbent will say the same of Baz?) The previous incumbent (W) was to blame for everything from a lack of health care, to gays not being able to marry, to yes you guessed it, Bigfoot sightings globally!

There does come a time when one has to see how deep the rabbit hole actually goes and towards the end of Obama’s first term in office, something clearly wasn't right. When you have been force fed falsities for so long, it is very hard to actually begin to question anything, heaven forbid check other news sources for clarity and fact. Having been involved in The Media as a Writer, Presenter, etc I was never one to shy away from sharing my opinion. Friends were starting podcasts around the topics that interested them and I thought if they could, why couldn't I? I wanted to actually be honest and objective and whilst I know this has become a rarity in media, I wanted to give it a try and see where it took me. The price of my objectivity was indeed high as it forced me to be totally honest in my level of response, to not only the world around me, but also regarding The Party and Leadership, who for most of my adult life, could do no wrong in my opinion. Getting to a point where I had to evolve and question the policies and responses of my chosen party of affiliation, that which closest fit my ideologies or so I thought, was one of the toughest times of my life. When one begins to look into claims and ideologies of one's political party and finds that they no longer represent them, it is a very scary situation indeed. Friends and peers do not deal well with change in political direction and woe betide I should criticize the ever increasing lunacy of the decisions of King Baz. I was called everything from a turncoat to a Racist, to a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I could no longer defend Obama’s crazy and dangerous action or even blame it on W, or agree blindly with issues that were clearly wrong for our country. My show changed direction radically and whilst I am sure that isolated some of my audience, it was imperative for me to be true to myself. I learned long ago that your audience will find you. The chat room would literally gasp as I criticized Obama care, considering I had championed it, because the Republicans didn't have an alternative viable option, right? Looking back I was foolish to have supported the plan in the first place, given that if it was such a wonderful idea, why did it have to come with a compulsory purchase order? Around that time I became acquainted with Dr Gina Loudon, a conservative talk show host, who appeared on an episode of Wife Swap. The show painted her as homophobic and nothing could be further from the truth. If you oppose same sex marriage, you are a homophobe, right? I attacked her with commentary on Social Media claiming she was a Christian in name only. To her credit, she didn't block me, but chose to engage in civil discourse. Imagine that, a Republican willing to discuss the real issues with me, without quoting party lines. I credit Dr. Loudon with being instrumental in my evolution and although we clashed on some issues, her influence was both positive and caring and totally non judgmental. Our friendship grew and looking back, if I had been her, I would have ran and maybe got a restraining order. She recounted our connection and subsequent friendship in her best selling book “What Women Really Want”, and I was surprised to learn that our friendship had impacted her life too. Looking back I am actually grateful that I had made this connection as it was clearly pivotal in me challenging my own beliefs, ideologies and principles. It even forced me to concede that maybe I was wrong and that there were Conservatives out there that actually felt like me, that were truly patriotic and loved our country. Conservatives that loved our country enough to befriend and outspoken Democrat even though they were criticized for doing so. The list of Obama’s failed and narcissistic policies were endless and grew on daily basis. While others dealt badly with my change of direction politically, my evolution if you will, my change was more to do with me questioning everything. As human beings, we rely far too much on being told what to think and have forgotten how to think for ourselves and it increases as time goes on. No matter which party you feel suits you best, you should always question and analyze every decision in great detail. There is no guarantee that our party of choice will always get it right or that it will always make the best decisions. We should never be afraid to jump ship, simply because we are afraid of what people might think of us. The madness of King Baz continues with such dangerous decisions as giving Iran Nuclear Components, a country that has threatened both us and our allies on numerous occasions, treats women like dogs and kills gays for merely existing. The ideology that Iran can be trusted is the most foolish notion ever, even more foolish than thinking a “Community Leader” could do a good job of running these United States. To consider that Iran could self police regarding nuclear components and nuclear technology and that we should make an appointment to inspect said issues is further evidence of the continuing lunacies of Obama. This is all before we even contemplate Ministers of Religion being forced to marry same sex couples and Business owners being forced to provide a service. Our world has gone mad because we elect lunatics to run things. Before you presume that I wrote this article because I am a Republican, nothing could be further from the truth as I identify as a Libertarian. Funnily enough, a lot of Democrats think I am a Republican and vice versa, dependent on the issue. Presumption is dangerous and let’s face it, we presumed Obama would make a great leader and clearly we were wrong. I was wrong! Don't take anything, anyone says as red. Check the facts and learn to separate fact from opinion. Measure opinion based upon the facts and how they play out in reality. If we make decisions based upon what people might think of us, our motivation is truly flawed. As for Obama being mad, clearly I have formed that opinion because I hate him or because I am racist right? Wrong! Let the madness end, and I am here to tell you, it begins with you.